The present invention relates generally to automated manufacturing or labeling equipment and methods, and more specifically, to systems and methods for removing components supplied on a liner and placing the components onto a target device such as a manufactured part.
Adhesive-backed components are used in a variety of industries. An adhesive-backed component may include different types of materials cut into different shapes to perform various functions, including paper labels with an adhesive between the label and liner, rubber or foam gaskets, and the like. The components are supplied on a roll of liner, typically made of paper or plastic, with a release coating so that the adhesive-backed component may be removed from the liner.
A variety of systems or methods exist for the removal of components from a liner, and the application of the component onto another device. For example, many manufacturing applications still utilize tedious hand placement of the adhesive-backed components onto target parts because of the expense of automation. While potentially cheaper than automated equipment, hand placement often lacks accuracy and fails to provide uniform placement from target to target.
Some existing systems, in an attempt to achieve placement accuracy, are very mechanically complex resulting in high cost and increased maintenance. Other existing systems have one or more shortcomings, including that they cannot place components quickly to facilitate production, are limited to only one function during the manufacturing process, tend to distort die-cut or soft components, lack a printing capability, cannot stack and place multiple components, cannot handle larger components (e.g., greater than a few to several inches) and the like. Improvements are desired.